Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
36 global ratings
5 star
56%
4 star
9%
3 star
12%
2 star
6%
1 star
17%
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Promises more than it delivers!
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2015
Verified Purchase
A Guide To Deduction is an interesting book. Written by Hannah Rogers, the Author of The Art of Deduction and website: http://aguidetodeduction.tumbler.com.

While reading the book, I got the sense the author intended it to be a book written on how to be a detective. Each chapter has a quote from “SH,” which I assumed is Sherlock Holmes. The book is essentially a collection of deductive rules of thumb taken from her tumbler blog. These short deductive rules cover such areas as spotting things about a person at work, writing, sports, travel, home, lying and health. The author does not include any proof to back up her assertions regarding the deductions she lists. The book also has many typos and words missing in the middle of sentences. It has a simple index but provides no additional sources for further research and training.

Other books on how to deduce people, such as The Monographs, How To Instantly Size-Up Strangers Like Sherlock Holmes and The Deduction Guide are better suited for deducing people because they show you how to actually do it. Mastermind: How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes shows you how Sherlock thinks but not how to think like him and make the deductions he makes.

Another major gripe I have with A Guide To Deduction is the manipulation of the Amazon ratings. It seems that after the book first came out on December 10th, someone named “anonymous” gave it a bad one star review on December 18th. Then suddenly on December 23rd, the book received 10 five star ratings and good reviews (most which were not verified purchases). Also, on the UK amazon website, author Ben Cardall also gave the book a glowing 5 star review, which seemed suspicious to me being that both A Guide To Deduction and The Monographs are published by MX Publishing. I believe most of the reviews for this book are designed to pump up the ratings and increase the book sales.

I liked the book but it is not as amazing as some of the other reviews would have you believe. In my opinion, it promises more than it delivers.
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Sam
1.0 out of 5 stars Don't trust in a book purportedly full of wisdom whose author is incapable of following conventional usage rules for English lan
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
After slogging through twenty percent of this book and the remarkable profusion of spelling errors, grammatical errors and incomplete sentences, I'm ready to offer my final deduction:

Don't trust in a book purportedly full of wisdom whose author is incapable of following conventional usage rules for English language writing.

Even Mr. Holmes had Dr. Watson, and Ms. Hannah Rogers couldn't locate an editor?

No time to finish this when other authors are writing outstanding books of fiction and nonfiction. No need to because of my deduction (above). No stars. No reason for even one.
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MrLafayetteButler
5.0 out of 5 stars Loads of helpful tidbits!
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2020
Verified Purchase
A guide to deduction is full of little bits of information, all ready to be observed and strung together into a story! Although I was already aware of some deductions included, this is an amazing tool for learning where to look for foundational information! Don't expect this book to train your mind to think like Sherlock himself, only hard work and practical experience can do that, but it is incredibly helpful in knowing what to look for beginners. Remember, once you've mastered the deductions in this book, you have only just begun on the road to definite deductions, and practice in the field is the only thing that can make up that difference.
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Cassia
2.0 out of 5 stars Her writing is good, besides the unchecked spelling errors
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
Frankly I feel a bit swindled. 10$ for a short book with tips from other people. Many spelling errors. The only excuse offered for the quality of the book was that she was young when she published this. If I had known her age at the time, I definitely wouldn't have bought it. Despite all this, I'm buying her next book the moment it's not a ridiculous price that is not deserving considering her history with this one. Her writing is good, besides the unchecked spelling errors.
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Renee H.
5.0 out of 5 stars Such. Great. Content!!
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
I loved it so much! There was extremely AMAZING content in here, and I enjoyed everything about it. There were quite a few typos, but it's definitely worth the buy - loved it!!
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Floyd
5.0 out of 5 stars ok
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2018
Verified Purchase
filled order
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Janet G.
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it so I knew she would
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2017
Verified Purchase
This was a gift for my daughter. I loved it so I knew she would! And of course I was right!
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GILMA CHUY
5.0 out of 5 stars Slim
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
Practice
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Top reviews from other countries

Heidi Becket-Clinton
1.0 out of 5 stars My mistake!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 4, 2019
Verified Purchase
I thought the preview of this book looked witty and entertaining! Not to take it too seriously, but potentially an enjoyable read! Nope! It's like reading someone's to do list. After about page 20 some odd, 'if this person has this' - repeat that phrase over - and over - and over - it's through out the entire (So-called) book! I couldn't finish it ('if this person is or does this' is extremely repetitive, but also the 'deductions' are so generalised, it could be anyone! and most of which I read were inaccurate to my knowledge!). I just cannot 'un-recommend' this enough.
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Blake123
3.0 out of 5 stars Too many grammatical errors
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 10, 2017
Verified Purchase
This product initially peaked my interest upon first viewing but once i received the product it appears that there were numerous grammatical mistakes and it was very poorly written. Understanding that this would only be purchased for entertainment purposes I gave it an extra star but the many grammatical errors inevitably decrease the value of this product.
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A1tam0nt
4.0 out of 5 stars Though a book written for entertainment purposes only, still ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 25, 2017
Verified Purchase
Though a book written for entertainment purposes only, still very educational, and the deductions included within are very much accurate. I wish it had more generic deductions about other objects and things, though.
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Marie
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 27, 2015
Verified Purchase
Brilliant and interesting book, would highly recommend!
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Anonymous
1.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy this book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2015
Verified Purchase
Poorly written, deductions that often doesn't make sense. Many contradictions. If I had known this beforehand I wouldn't have bought it.
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